* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember D'Adamo
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Request to the Archdiocese of Baltimore - Reconsider Plans to Transfer Archbishop Borders School
FOR the purpose of urging the Archdiocese of Baltimore to reconsider the plan to transfer Archbishop Borders School and the Hispanic ministry and to allow the Hispanic-Americans of the area to develop culturally and economically as citizens of Baltimore, as did the diverse ethnic communities of Baltimore that have preceded them.
body
WHEREAS, Our Lady of Pompei Church and School have been an important center of community activity in the Conkling and Claremont Streets area of Highlandtown since 1920; and
WHEREAS, Our Lady of Pompei Church and school have been historically associated with the Italian-American community, whose sons and daughters not only founded, supported, and raised their families in the community surrounding the Parish and whose children attended the school, and throughout the years this area has also been populated by Polish, Irish, German, and other ethnic nationalities; and
WHEREAS, During the past 10 years and continuing, Hispanic-American families of this area of East Baltimore have gathered in substantial numbers to reside in the Parish, which has become established as the center of their worship, community activity, and education; and
WHEREAS, Through hard work and dedication, a bilingual school and Church have been successfully established in and around Our Lady of Pompei Church, helping people with different backgrounds and traditions fit into the American way of life; and
WHEREAS, Hispanic-Americans have invested their civic emotions, faith, and growth as residents of Our Lady of Pompei Church Parish and school; and
WHEREAS, It has been publicly announced by the Archdiocese of Baltimore that it will transfer Archbishop Borders School, an established bi-cultural, bilingual Hispanic community school already established and existing in and around Our Lady of Pompei Church, to an adjoining area beyond the residential neighborhood, an area with which the Hispanic community is not familiar and to which the community is not emotionally attached or devoted; and
WHEREAS, To transfer or move the Hispanic-American community to an adjoining but
culturally different neighborhood will result in an unnecessary upheaval in the lives of its people; and
WHEREAS, This missionary territory of Hispanic-Americans needs the attention, support, and focus of the Archdiocese and the City of Baltimore, as do many other neighborhoods throughout the City, in order to grow, become economically secure, and to thrive, especially in their formative years; and
WHEREAS, The Hispanic residents attending the school have responded to the Archdiocese's initiative in that area that commenced 10 years ago, as witnessed by attendance at the school and Our Lady of Pompei Church; and
WHEREAS, We now have in the area a substantial concentration of poor and low skilled and hard working Hispanics who have successfully adjusted in the adjoining neighborhood of Archbishop Borders School and Our Lady of Pompei Parish.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this Body urges the Archdiocese of Baltimore to reconsider its plans to transfer the school and the Hispanic ministry and to allow the Hispanic-Americans of the area to develop culturally and economically as citizens of Baltimore, as did the diverse ethnic communities of Baltimore that have preceded them.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Archbishop of Baltimore, the Pastor of Our Lady of Pompei Church, the Principal of Archbishop Borders School, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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